Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
March 07, 2004
Patient Aggressive?

Tyler Kepner has a very interesting article on Gary Sheffield today. I knew Sheffield and Gooden were close relatives, but I guess I hadn't realized how much Dwight had worked with Gary when they were young:


Sheffield has always been a supremely confident hitter. He grew up in the same Tampa house as his uncle Dwight Gooden, who is four years older. Gooden would rouse Sheffield before 8 a.m., eager to get outside and play "strikeout." Gooden, who would become a phenom with the Mets at 19, would fire tennis balls at Sheffield from close range, trying to strike him out so he could get a turn at bat.

Gooden said he never held back, zipping fastballs or spinning curves to Sheffield when he was 8 or 9 years old. It was often futile.

"I would hit him, knock him down, do everything I could," Gooden said. "But he still would hit it on top of the house. It got to the point where I would make him go on top of the house and get the ball. And once I got the lead, I quit."

Gooden was a merciless teacher, Sheffield said, hitting him grounders on rocky infields and making sure Sheffield stayed in front of the ball. For neighborhood pickup games, Gooden would bring Sheffield along because Sheffield was the only player who could catch for him. Sheffield did not wear a mask.

"You'd get foul tips and get hit right in the face with a rubber ball," Sheffield said. "Right in the face. That's what made me not scared of the baseball. Making it to the big leagues was like life or death with me: either I'll get hit in the nose with this ball or I'll be poor the rest of my life."


If you could hit a young Doc Gooden, you can probably hit anybody. It reminds me of the stories of Ken Griffey Jr taking batting practice against his father. Dad was a lefty thrower, so Griffey has no problems against lefties.

There is one thing in the article that I find confusing:


Jason Giambi, who will probably bat fourth this season, one spot in front of Sheffield, struck out 140 times last season and marvels at Sheffield's approach. Giambi is a vastly different hitter, taking pitches, waiting for a pitcher to make a mistake. Sheffield is so aggressive, Giambi said, that he essentially makes his own mistakes.

Darren Bragg, a Yankees outfielder who played with Sheffield in Atlanta, illustrated that point. Asked about Sheffield's strike zone, Bragg moved his hand above his head, down by his shoetops, far out in front of him and in toward his chest.

"He doesn't miss any fastball," Bragg said. "You can put it anywhere, and he'll get to it."


Unfortunately, that flies in the face of Sheffield's walk totals and his .401 career OBA. Yes, he may go after fastballs outside of the strikezone, but he must be taking something to draw 1110 walks in 6729 career AB. If that's aggressive, it's exactly the type of aggressive hitter I would want on my team.


Posted by David Pinto at 08:25 AM | Sluggers | TrackBack (1)